INVESTMENT: Let’s look at the facts

Published:16:30Thursday 09 July 2015

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In response to Barry Elliott’s letter ‘In need of investment’, (News Post Leader, June 25), was the Townscape Heritage Investment money that improved Bridge Street, and will improve the Poundstretcher building in the next few weeks, not investment?

Didn’t Morrisons invest in its new store? Or Specsavers in its branch?

Every time a company like Specsavers moves into new premises, like Wilkinsons did with the Co-op food store a few years ago, it’s an investment in Blyth.

The Morrisons investment was only made possible with substantial support from the local council at the time, but many of these private sector investments happen because companies believe that their business has a future in Blyth.

Take a look at the way the old Co-op building in Waterloo Road is coming back into use. Is that not investment?

Hodgsons Road estate has been renovated, new council houses have been built in Tynedale Drive, and the programme of fitting solar panels to older council houses continues.

More and more of our private housing stock is benefiting from insulation and green energy measures. Is that not investment?

There is to be well over £1m spent on environmental work in Newsham. Is that not investment?

Did I mention the new Workspace building on the Quayside, and the hotel and housing that will follow, are all being built by the council’s development company Arch? Is that not investment?

Was Arms Evertyne House not an investment in Blyth?

Here’s a quote from a planning application that has just been put in for a development on Sussex Street: “Recent and ongoing major investment within the Quayside area of Blyth is now producing real, tangible benefits to this part of town.”

There are major investments for Blyth under negotiation that will benefit the town and residents.

Some people might not like change, but that doesn’t mean those changes aren’t investments in the future of our town.

Once again there was the vague accusation that ‘the county council has sold off tens of millions of pounds of Blyth assets in the last few years’. But there were no details.

What is tens of millions of pounds? What assets? Where’s the facts? Where’s the proof?